Judgement

Intro

Good morning church fam!

We are continuing a series called “How to Deal with It”. We are taking some of life’s situations and looking at them from a biblical perspective and how we as Christians are supposed to deal with it.

This past week I had the opportunity to sit on a jury and listen to a case of a man who was arrested for a DUI. The prosecutor and the defense both made their case and both presented evidence. As the jury, we were told to take what we have seen and heard and make a judgement of either guilty or not guilty. We spent three days in a room deliberating whether or not this man was guilty.

After three days we came to the conclusion that we cannot agree unanimously on a verdict and the judge declared a miss-trial. During our last session as jurors, one of them made the statement “It is not my job to judge this person.” Taken back by this, I asked her why is she here? Because it absolutely was her job to make a judgement about this man’s actions. That is the point of the jury. See the evidence and make a judgment based on that evidence.

Today I want to speak with you about that very subject. Judgement and how we are to deal with it biblically.

How many here by the showing of hands ever had someone tell you, “You are not the judge of me.”

How many of you here had told someone else, “You are not the judge of me.”

Judgment is one of those subjects where I think we have a misunderstanding. “Don’t judge me” is one of those phrases that we throw around especially when we made a decision about something or when we choose to do something and someone may not agree with it.

I remember when we were pastoring in Indiana and one the men of the church came over to the house and he proceeded to tell me that he just quit his job. Knowing that he has struggled financially in recent days I asked him with a concerned tone in my voice, “What are you going to do?” He rapidly responded with, “You’re not the judge of me!”

Somehow we as the church and even those who don’t follow God, believe that because we are followers of Christ that we are not allowed to judge. But is this really biblical? Are we really not supposed to judge others?

I am glad you asked. Let’s dive into what the Word says. Let’s see what Jesus has to say about it.

Judging Others

Matthew 7:1 NASB95

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

Let’s stop right there. This is where most people stop when it comes to judging others. See it says right there, “Do not judge!” Both those in the church and out of the church know this verse really well. We are not supposed to judge. Jesus said so.

This is a perfect example of how many, those who follow Christ and those who don’t, will cherry pick a scripture in order to fit their reality.

Church we cannot use Scripture to fit into our reality and make it say what we want it to say and how we want it to say it.

If you continue to read this passage we learn that there are times when we are to make a judgement, but with making those judgements comes responsibility. In fact Jesus gives us caution as it pertains to judging.

Matthew 7:1–5 NASB95

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

There will be times in life where you are going to have to judge someone. Judge their actions, judge their character, judge their attitudes, and so forth. You cannot go through life expecting never to judge someone. We shouldn’t go through life never judging someone.

Just as we have been learning in this series about anger, hurt, and pain, we must take it before God and gain insight from Him as it pertains to judging. Without God in the middle of your judgement call, it is not a righteous judgement. Therefore, it will not honor God.

So how do we deal with judging.

Judge Cautiously

First we need to judge cautiously. If we are going to judge, it must be done with caution.

Matthew 7:2 NASB95

2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

Like many of you I have been judged by people who just throw out their judgements without ever taking a moment to take it before God and get His thoughts and His opinions on what is being judged.

I shared with you when I was a youth pastor standing in line at a gas station and the gentleman in front of me was singing an old red back hymnal song. He stopped before the chorus and so I picked it up.

He snapped his head around and asked me very judgy like, “How do you know that song?” Mind you I was dressed in baggy pants, skate shoes, with about 7 or 8 piercings in my face, and a chain wallet.

I too have been guilty of judging people with a quickness instead of being more cautious.

Jesus said,

Matthew 7:2 NASB95

2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

Jesus takes judging others very seriously and as followers of Christ, so should we. For we will be judged by the same standard of judgement that we dish out.

The Pharisees and religious people of Jesus day were known to judge and condemn people because they did not live up to their standard. They continued to judge people by their outward appearances. God isn’t concerned about our outward appearances.

Throughout the Scriptures we can see that God is more concerned about the inward appearance of a persons heart rather than the outward.

2 Corinthians 5:12 NASB95

12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

Paul speaks about the importance of valuing the inner person rather than external appearances, contrasting true spiritual integrity with superficial judgments.

Judging people goes beyond just the outward appearance. Sometimes we are quick to judge peoples motives when they make a decision. Or judge someone’s actions and condemn them for those actions. When our own actions and motives are not even pure.

But when it comes to self, our motives are always pure, or we know we can make better choices, or we are a work in progress, and so we extend grace to ourselves. But we do not extend grace to others.

As Christians we are called to emulate the same grace and mercy that God has shown towards us.

Ephesians 4:32 NASB95

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Luke 6:36 NASB95

36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

James 2:13 NASB95

13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

As you can see, when the time comes to judge, we are to be very cautious in our judgement and not be too hasty when it the time comes.

Look in the Mirror

Second, before you judge others, make sure that you look in the mirror and are judging yourself first.

Matthew 7:3–5 NASB95

3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Here is yet another example how we take certain scriptures to mold into our reality. We tend to stop at verse 4 and never move into verse 5.

Matthew 7:5 NASB95

5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

There will be times when you are going to take the speck out of someone else’s eye. You are going to call them out on there stuff. You are going to judge them.

This is also biblical in the church. Calling out our brothers and sisters in sin. But there is a protocol for such. Before we get into that let me make this clear.

Don’t ever call someone on their sin unless your motive is to restore them back to God or to others. Any other reason than that it is not your responsibility.

Matthew 18:15–17 NASB95

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

First of all notice this is speaking to the church. This is church protocol. We will get to the world part here in a minute.

Show them their fault in private - not social media, not in a prayer group, not as a prayer request.

If that does not work, take someone else with you.

If that doesn’t work, take it before the church.

If that doesn’t work, then you turn them over to God. God will take it from there.

James 5:19–20 NASB95

19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Who is this speaking to? The church.

But pastor, isn’t it our job to judge those outside the church?

I am glad you asked.

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 NASB95

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

Just to make it clear, Paul is not speaking of someone who messes up here and there. We all do. All of us fall. Not one person in this room is perfect. Including me.

In the broader context of 1 Corinthians 5, Paul is dealing with a case of gross sexual immorality in the Corinthian church, specifically a man who is having a relationship with his stepmother.

The church was not only tolerating this behavior but seemed to be proud of their tolerance. Paul condemns this attitude and calls for the man to be removed from the fellowship.

Paul is referring to individuals who identify as Christians ("brother or sister") but are living in persistent, unrepentant sin.

Proverbs 24:16 NASB95

16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

I find it interesting that in the New Testament when speaking about judging, it is speaking to the church. Not the church judging the world, but an inward judgement. This inward judgement begins with self.

Going back to our text.

Matthew 7:5 NASB95

5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

There is some inward reflection that needs to take place before we can judge those around us in the church.

It really is a funny picture if you think about it. Imagine having a huge beam sticking out of your eye. You turn your heard and this thing is just swinging around. Knocking over chairs and tables. While this beam is so evident in your eye, you notice a speck, a small piece of something in someone else’s eye.

As humans, we have a tendency to focus on the sin in other people’s lives and may even try to help them out of it, all the while refusing to acknowledge and address our own sin.

In my experience, when someone has a log in their eye and points out the sin of someone else, it is usually the same sin they are struggling with.

Again, this doesn’t mean you have to be perfect in order to help someone with what they are struggling with. Just make sure you check yourself first and remain humble before God and allow Him to change you.

If all we do is call out the sin of others and never address our own, we are no better than the Pharisees and we too will wear the badge hypocrite.

“Even when we are called to step in and call out sin, our judging cannot look like judgmental condemnation of the legalistic Pharisees.” - Pastor Sean Couch

Judge to Restore

So then how are we to judge if not for condemnation?

This leads us to the third point on how to deal with judging. We judge to restore. If you are judging someone for any other reason than to restore that person to God, then you need to just stop judging. If you are not willing to help that brother or sister in their sin, then don’t even bother saying anything.

If you are going to judge then there needs to be action.

Go back to verse 5.

Matthew 7:5 NASB95

5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

The purpose of taking the log or beam out of you eye is so you can clearly help remove (action part) the speck, or sin, in your brother or sister in Christ life.

Love is the motive.

Restoration is the goal.

We are not to judge to put others down.

We are not to judge to lift ourselves up.

We are not to judge as the Pharisees.

This is where they missed it. They judged people for the wrong reasons and it did not bring glory to God and it certainly did not restore people back to God. It pushed them away.

There are times when I get spunky and try to build something at the house or work on a project. It doesn’t happen too often. But there are times when I do get a splinter. I am not a fan of splinters. They hurt. I am a red head therefore I am fragile. Or as my wife says, “Extra.”

When I do get a splinter I ask my wife to help me with it and she kindly, lovingly, grabs a needle and helps remove it. She doesn’t tell me I am stupid. She doesn’t say “Who do you think you are, Bob Villa!” No. She helps remove it so I can heal.

Church, that is what we are called to do. Help heal one another by first submitting ourselves to God and making sure we are addressing our own sin and then when we can see clearly, help those who are struggling in theirs.

James 5:16 NASB95

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Closing

If we are judging people without first looking at ourselves, being slow to judge to show caution and get God’s perspective, and for anything other than restoration and healing, we are going about it in an unbiblical way.

I like what Paul told the followers of Christ in Rome.

Romans 15:14 MSG

14 Personally, I’ve been completely satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. You seem to me to be well-motivated and well-instructed, quite capable of guiding and advising one another.

When it comes to New Life, I too can honestly say I am convinced as Paul, that my church fam is good people. People who are doing what the Lord instructed. I know you are very capable of judging one another in the biblical way that honors God and lifts up and encourages those who have fallen.

Are we perfect at it? No.

Are we always going to get it right? No.

But by the grace of God and His mercy we will strive for it.

There will be times when we are at our best. Then there will be times when we are at our worse. We are to be there for each other to celebrate the good times, and encourage one another when we are at a low point.

If you are new to New Life or if this is your first time visiting, welcome to our messy family. We put Jesus first and foremost into everything we do.

My prayer for our church is not that we become the best in town, but that we become more and more like Jesus.

Some of you have come a long way in a short amount of time. Some of you are starting out. Some of you have been following Jesus for awhile. Some of you are on the fence.

Either way, we are not here to pray with you, encourage you, teach you, and lead you towards Christ. We cannot fix you, but we know the one who can. We cannot save you, but we know the one who can.

Prayer

**Congregation stand - call up people to pray at the altars with people**

If you are here this morning and you are in need of prayer. Whether it be you are struggling in sin (maybe it is unbiblical judgement), need healing, or simply just need an encouraging word or a touch from God, I encourage you to step out from your seat this morning and gather around the altar and we will pray with you.